Bosun Adebaki

U.C.-Berkeley, Haas School of Business

“A risk-taking problem-solving hustler who passionately believes in using actions to drive positive change.”

Hometown: London, England

Fun fact about yourself: I climbed Mount Fuji in Japan alone, and was the first person on October 2, 2015, to reach the summit and watch the beautiful sunrise.

Undergraduate School and Degree: The University of Nottingham, Business Management degree

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? PwC, a Director, M&A Tax

Where did you intern during the summer of 2018? Bank of America Merrill Lynch, FinTech Investment Banking, New York

Where will you be working after graduation? To Be Decided

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School (Include school awards and honors):

• Co-president of the FinTech Club
• Financial Inclusion Fellow for the Haas Impact Investing Network
• Founding Fellow of the recently launched Berkeley Blockchain Accelerator
• Mentor to fourth and fifth-grade students during Haas’ innovative Cheetah Tank business competition
• Committee member for UC Berkeley’s annual Africa Business Forum
• Awarded the D.K. Kim Fellowship for contributions to local and international social causes
• Awarded a research grant from UC Berkeley’s Blockchain Initiative to investigate how blockchain technology can be used to facilitate greater financial inclusion
• Graduate Student Instructor for MBA courses in both Leadership Communication and Ethics in Business and Financial Modelling
• Haas Diversity Scholarship recipient

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? During my second year, I was a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) for Haas’ flagship Leadership Communication class. This is a core class for all first-year MBAs and provides students with the opportunity to learn and practice the broad range of skills required to communicate effectively as a leader, particularly in times of uncertainty. In my role, I coached students on how to practice active listening, take expressive risks through improvisation, and share their authentic selves through storytelling. I’m most proud of this because I enabled students to discover new ways of communicating and connecting with others, something I passionately believe is vital both in life and business. I now regularly see my students using the skills I taught them throughout the class when they communicate in presentations, pitch during competitions, and in leadership positions both on and off campus.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I’ve been fortunate enough to work in multiple countries throughout my career. Prior to Haas, I lived in Mexico City, where I had moved to scale up my firm’s M&A Practice. As a director in PwC’s Deals practice in Mexico, I built an integrated, cross-functional team of 40+ people focused on international M&A, created a new three-year strategic growth plan to expand across Latin America, and built relationships with national regulators. At PwC, I was recognized as a thought leader on tax transparency issues and led cross-border transactions worth billions of dollars for clients from all over the world. I also learned to speak fluent Spanish!

What was your favorite MBA Course Dialogues on Race, a student-run course that examines identity, race, and the development of societal norms. As an international student, this class was extremely eye-opening. It offered a window into how a deeper understanding of existing power structures and biases, in addition to an awareness of shared life experiences, can be harnessed by business to create diverse and inclusive integrated teams. Successful leaders need to engage in difficult discussions on complex topics and this class put the skills required to do so into practice.

Why did you choose this business school? I wanted to be part of a school that embodied “social impact” and had close relationships with all departments on campus. As part of the leading public university within a stone’s throw of Silicon Valley, Haas has created a unique environment that encourages students to take risks and use new technologies to solve pressing social problems. I’ve spent my career building partnerships across national and cultural boundaries, and Haas’ deeply-held commitment to partnering with undergraduate and graduate students across the Berkeley campus offered an unrivaled opportunity to be exposed to a broad range of perspectives.

What is your best advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Be brave and open when telling your story. At Haas, we really value people who are reflective, bold, and authentic.

What is the biggest myth about your school? Before coming to Haas, I’d heard that its smaller class size could impact the growth of my professional network. This could not be further from the truth. What Haas may lack in student numbers, it more than makes up for in student and alumni engagement. Time-and-time again, Haas MBAs go above-and-beyond to help their classmates build their professional networks and connect with prospective employers.

Think back two years ago. What is the one thing you wish you’d known before starting your MBA program?  I wish I’d known that the MBA would fly by at such a crazy pace. My advice”

1) Take as much time off work as possible before you start to charge up your battery; 2) Focus your energy on doing the things you really want to do, rather than those things you “should” do, 3) Be cognizant that lasting friendships take time, but that this is the best investment you’ll make; and 4) remember that the business school is just one part of the wider Berkeley institution, so make an effort to walk around, get to know the campus, and make friends with the incredibly bright undergrads who will become the next generation of leaders

MBA Alumni often describe business school as transformative. Looking back over the past two years, how has business school been transformative for you? Business school has given me the opportunity to reflect on who I want to be and the impact I’d like to have, rather than focus on the specific work I want to be doing. Being surrounded by a diverse mix of people with such uniquely distinct backgrounds has also taught me the value and the power of storytelling and finding points of similarity in driving change.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? My good friend, Flor Linares. We were in the same cohort and study group so we have known each other since the first day. More than just being unbelievably smart (she’s basically a genius), Flor is honest, loyal, always speaks her mind, and has embodied what it means to lean into an experience and be open to change.

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? My grandfather. When I was younger, he always challenged me to negotiate, do deals, and think creatively about how to solve problems. His influence, along with my mother’s encouragement, helped ignite my desire to understand how business can be used to solve social problems.

What is your favorite movie about business? Black Panther. The movie may not literally be about business, but it definitely provides a lesson in business. As one of the top 10 grossing movies of all time, Black Panther is a great example of how diversity and business success can go hand in hand when we make brave decisions to change the narrative and share new perspectives.

What was the goofiest MBA term or acronym you encountered – and what did it mean? TaHaaSki. Each year, students at Haas organize a big ski trip to Lake Tahoe. About 350 Haasies and their partners attend, so naturally, Ta(hoe)-Haa(s)-Ski(ing), otherwise known as TaHaaSki, was born.

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…building a fintech business focused on addressing the needs of the underbanked.”

What dollar value would you place on your MBA education? Was it worth what you paid for it – worth more or worth less? I wouldn’t put a dollar value on my MBA education (although my student loan statement does show a dollar amount!) but if I did, I would still believe that it has been worth every penny. Not only have I had the opportunity to reimagine the life I want to live and the person I want to become, but I’ve been blessed with an amazing network of friends, classmates, and professors who will support me in reaching my dreams.

What are the top two items on your bucket list?

• Playing on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival
• A road trip through Norway to see The Northern Lights

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? The cool English dude who was full of positivity and humour, embodied diversity and inclusion and was passionate about using blockchain technology to drive greater financial access.

Hobbies? Salsa dancing, football (soccer), rum-tasting and learning about new cultures through travel (40+ countries and counting).

What made Bosun such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2019?

“I highly recommend Bosun for Best & Brightest. He is a grounded, thoughtful, and conscience-driven leader, whom I was eager to work with as one of my Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) this past fall.

The interview process to become a GSI for the Leadership Communication course is intense and competitive. Of the 50 students I interview, just 14 are invited to be GSIs, all screened for their leadership IQ. Bosun (pronounced Boston without the “t”) was a standout.

Bosun has great depth as a person; he can be sensitive and serious, and he has a deep understanding of other people’s struggles, which helps him connect and relate, a critical skill in teaching this course. At the same time, he is funny and his comedic timing lightens things up when required. Bosun is courageous and unafraid to tackle problems head-on. Before class began this year, we were in GSI training sessions. Bosun brought up his concern over the lack of students of color in the entering MBA class. He asked if we could discuss the issue during training and we dove in. Though we struggled at times for the right words to describe how we were feeling, Bosun made sure that we had the conversation and we were all better for it.

Once in class, Bosun did a phenomenal job of setting the tone, getting people engaged, and encouraging each student’s personal development. His students shared high praise for him in evaluations: “He’s extremely present and very invested in our growth and success.” “His lab was amazing. I personally grew an enormous amount in these six short weeks.” “He was thoughtful and clearly cared about each and every one of us.”  One student wrote: “I’d enthusiastically recommend Bosun!” So do I.”

Cort Worthington

Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Haas

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